{"id":10082,"date":"2026-06-23T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/?p=10082"},"modified":"2026-06-24T05:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T20:36:09","slug":"this-is-not-just-ukraine-the-global-danger-of-normalising-russias-occupation-crimes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/news\/this-is-not-just-ukraine-the-global-danger-of-normalising-russias-occupation-crimes\/","title":{"rendered":"This Is Not Just Ukraine: The Global Danger of Normalising Russia\u2019s Occupation Crimes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Mykhailo Savva<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Oleh Martynenko<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KYIV (IPS)\u00a0<\/strong>– People often discuss Russia\u2019s aggressive war against Ukraine in terms of drones, missiles, shifting front lines, and territorial borders. But this war has another dimension \u2014 the human one.\uff5cJAPANESE<\/a>\uff5c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 90,000 Ukrainians are considered missing under special circumstances. These are official data<\/a>. Some of them are currently held captive by Russia \u2014 both prisoners of war and civilians. The latter ended up behind bars when Russian forces occupied the territories where they lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2026, in an\u00a0interview with Axios<\/a>, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump sees no other way to end the war except by handing over the entire Donbas to Russia. But it is important to understand this \u2013 it is not just about land but also about the people who live there. And occupation is not peace<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mykhailo Savva is a Doctor of Political Sciences and an expert at the Center for Civil Liberties.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Oleh Martynenko is a Doctor of Law, a Professor, a criminologist, a veteran of Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine, and also an expert at the Center for Civil Liberties.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The Chain of Persecution\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The terrorisation of the civilian population is one of the tactics that Russia is using in its war against Ukraine. Imprisonment has become a punishment for failing to comply with the rules established by the occupying authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of this system lies what might be called \u201cthe chain of persecution.\u201d This pattern is repeated in all occupied regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 1: Identification.<\/strong> Local officials, teachers, journalists, volunteers, and ordinary residents who express even the simplest pro-Ukrainian views come under the scrutiny of the occupying authorities. Sometimes, an overheard conversation or a social media post is enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia has been using this method since 2014: it tested it in occupied Crimea and later expanded it to all occupied territories. For example, in March 2026,  a resident of Alupka was arrested in <\/a> Crimea after Russian security forces accused him of \u201cjustifying terrorism\u201d based on posts in a messaging app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The words on this drawing are \u201cHold on. I\u2019m holding on.\u201d This phrase reflects the emotional state of both those held in captivity and those waiting for their loved ones to return from imprisonment. The illustrator, Serhiy Ofitserov, has been in detention since August 2022. In January 2026, he was sentenced to 17 years on fabricated charges; he turned 50 in May. Courtesy: Hennadiy Ofitserov<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The words on this drawing are \u201cHold on. I\u2019m holding on.\u201d This phrase reflects the emotional state of both those held in captivity and those waiting for their loved ones to return from imprisonment. The illustrator, Serhiy Ofitserov, has been in detention since August 2022. In January 2026, he was sentenced to 17 years on fabricated charges; he turned 50 in May. Courtesy: Hennadiy Ofitserov<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 2. Enforced disappearance.<\/strong> Detainees are not officially registered. Their whereabouts are concealed or denied. Relatives are left in the dark. This is done deliberately so that everything that happens next remains beyond their control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 3. Cruel treatment.<\/strong> Torture is not an exception but a systematic practice. Survivors describe beatings, electric shocks, mock executions, and prolonged deprivation of food and water. Sexual violence is used against both men and women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019d take a person out into the hallway, where there were no cameras, where everyone was, let\u2019s say, on their side. No one would object. And there, they\u2019d simply beat the person as much as they saw fit. They used stun guns. And this was with about 10 to 12 people there. If not more. They said, \u201cYou\u2019ve had your little taste of life \u2013 well, that\u2019s enough \u2013 you\u2019ve already experienced what it\u2019s like. You won\u2019t have any more of that,\u2019\u201d recalls<\/a> Viktoria Andrusha<\/a>, a teacher whom the occupiers took from her parents\u2019 home on September 25, 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the search, they found messages on her phone from chatbots about the movement of Russian military equipment. Viktoria was accused of \u201cspying\u201d and taken away: first, she was held in a makeshift detention centre in the boiler room of the neighbouring village of Novy Bykiv, and later in a pre-trial detention centre in the Kursk region of Russia. She was released in October 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 4: The Sham Trial.<\/strong> Detainees are often transported over long distances. Such transfers sever ties with their communities, complicate search efforts, and further deprive people of legal protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next comes the \u201ctrial\u201d, which merely mimics legality. Civilians are prosecuted on trumped-up charges \u2014 extremism, terrorism, or espionage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Yana Suvorova, the administrator of the Telegram channel \u201cMelitopol Is Ukraine\u201d, was sentenced<\/a> to 14 years in a general-regime penal colony after nearly two years of unlawful detention. The verdict was handed down by the Southern District Military Court of Rostov-on-Don on October 23, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southern District Military Court of Rostov-on-Don, October 23, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 5: Imprisonment.<\/strong> People are placed in a network of detention facilities where supervision is minimal or nonexistent. Conditions are often inhumane. Contact with families is restricted or completely prohibited. For many, this stage becomes indefinite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the world will face if this is not stopped<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of these stages violates human rights and international norms. But together, they form something more\u2014a system in which crimes against humanity occur sequentially and reinforce one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Persecution, unlawful detention, deportation, enforced disappearances, torture, sexual violence, and imprisonment are not isolated incidents. They are parts of a single, integrated, and deliberate structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of this system is to consolidate control over the occupied territories, create an atmosphere of fear, and force people to submit to imposed rules\u2014legal, administrative, and educational. The message is clear: people are expected to be submissive. In effect, the occupation is turning into a form of criminal governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This poses a question to the international community: if such systems are allowed to operate without consequences, what precedent will this set for future conflicts?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normalising the \u201cchain of persecution\u201d risks cementing these practices as tools of modern warfare. And then this model of control will extend far beyond Ukraine\u2019s borders. Therefore, the issue of accountability concerns more than just Ukraine. The task is complex\u2014but the law is clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All that remains is the will to act. If that will is lacking, this practice will become the norm rather than the exception. And the price for this will be paid not only by those currently behind bars, but also by the very integrity of international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INPS Japan\/ IPS UN Bureau Report<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Mykhailo Savva\u00a0and\u00a0Oleh Martynenko KYIV (IPS)\u00a0– People often discuss Russia\u2019s aggressive war against Ukraine in terms of drones, missiles, shifting front lines, and territorial borders. But this war has another dimension \u2014 the human one.\uff5cJAPANESE\uff5c More than 90,000 Ukrainians are considered missing under special circumstances. These are official data. Some of them are currently held captive by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10083,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,42,20,16,32],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-injustice-corruption","8":"category-europe","9":"category-human-right","10":"category-news","11":"category-regions"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10082"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10089,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10082\/revisions\/10089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}